Entropy Technologies LP Lowers Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Entropy Technologies LP lowered its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,534 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $8,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Vistra by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,638,000 after purchasing an additional 86,393 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% in the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,875,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Vistra by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,343,000 after buying an additional 192,274 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $163.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.47. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. Equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VST. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.62.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.